I think that if the Kerry campaign could convince John McCain to be his running mate the ticket would be a slam dunk. I don't know if McCain would have to change parties. Certainly, I don't believe there are any rules about who has to be part of which ticket.
Most Americans seem to be pretty ignorant of their own political history. As little as a hundred and fifty years ago there were multiple successful political parties--this wasn't just a two-party system as it is now. The Republican party didn't really exist until about 1853-1854.
Teddy Roosevelt was a member of the "Bull Moose" party (a progressive splinter chapter of the Republican party) and originally brought in as a vice presidential candidate (he made it into office through the assassination of William McKinley.
I would absolutely love a combined ticket of Kerry and McCain. I've liked McCain's policies for a while and a number of my Republican friends have even told me that that would be a ticket for which they could vote. Think about it - these huge deficits didn't work under the Reaganites, why would they work now?
Posted by artandscience at March 17, 2004 07:24 AM